Page 176 - LTC - TOEFL PREP MODULE

In this type of question, you should understand that put is a normal, everyday word, and
you are not being asked to give the regular meaning of a normal, everyday word. Because
the primary meaning of to put is to place, answer (A) is not the correct answer. To answer
this type of question, you must see which of the answers best fits into the sentence in the
passage. You cannot place an answer or set an answer or hand an answer, but you can
express an answer, so answer (C) is the best answer to this question.
The following chart outlines the key information that you should remember about
vocabulary questions containing simple words:

VOCABULARY QUESTIONS CONTAINING SIMPLE WORDS

HOW TO IDENTIFY "What is the meaning ... ?"
THE QUESTION "Which of the following is closest in meaning to... ?"
The word is a simple word, one that you see often in everyday
English.
WHERE TO FIND The question usually tells you in which line of the passage
THE ASWER the word can be found.
HOW TO ANSWER 1. Find the word in the passage.
THE QUESTION 2. Read the sentence that contains the word carefully.
3. Look for context clues to help you understand the
meaning.
4. Choose the answer that the context indicates.

TOEFL EXERCISE 11: Study each of the passages and choose the best answers to the
questions that follow.

PASSAGE ONE (Questions 1-3)

The "piece of eight" was the nickname of the Spanish "peso," which was the rough equivalent
of the American dollar in early America; the peso was accepted coin in much of the Americas,
particularly during the period when the stores of Spanish ships were regularly stripped by pirates on
Line the waters off the Americas and "redistributed" throughout coastal towns. The nickname "piece of
(5) eight" derived from the fact that the peso was equal to eight "reals" and therefore had the numeral 8
stamped on it. The "piece of eight" was sometimes actually cut into pieces, or bits, and one popular
size was one-quarter of a "piece of eight," or two bits. As a consequence, the U.S. quarter of a dollar is
sometimes referred to today as two-bits, particularly in the western part of the country. A visitor to
that area, if told "It'll be two-bits," should take it that the price of an item is being given.

1. Tlie word "rough" in line 1 is closest in 3. The word "take" in line 9 could best be
meaning to replaced by
(A) unsmooth (A) hold
(B) mean (B) understand
(C) approximate (C) possess
(D) heavy (D) grab

2. "Stores" in line 3 are probably
(A) departments
(B) markets
(C) shops
(D) supplies

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